


Icarus' Flight

by KitsuneTails25



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Wings, Gen, Wingfic, slight angst, sort of religious themes?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29358897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitsuneTails25/pseuds/KitsuneTails25
Summary: In a world where humans are born with wings, being grounded and caged is something Frisk fears.(One-shot. Might be continued someday.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Icarus' Flight

Monsters.

The wingless.

It is what legends call the creatures that were sealed under Mt. Ebott. The creatures without wings, unworthy of flight and forever grounded. The few that are capable of flight, are said to be so inhuman in shape that none would be able to call them human. Their monstrous forms and their lack of the beautiful wings that all humans possess made them known to another name.

Demons.

Demons are said to be viscous and cruel, having killed millions of humans in a war long ago. That war was said to have spanned multiple lifetimes, and it was only through the power of seven wizards that the world now no longer needed to live in fear of their wrath.

But sometimes, a child would wander up the mountain and they would disappear. It is said that they were taken by the demons, their flesh used to satisfy the hunger that remained unfulfilled for years and years.

At least...that's what Frisk learned, when she was warned about wandering too far from the forest.

Frisk was skeptical about the story, and as most children were wont to do, ended up wandering in the forbidden place at the jeering dares of her peers.

Now...now, as furry hands cradled her injured wing with surprising gentleness, a glow replacing the pain with warmth and numbness, she was skeptical in a different way.

Toriel's eyes were aware and sapient, a far cry from the mindless monsters that the stories made these creatures to be. And they were warm. When Frisk was bleeding on the floor, and when she tried to drag herself away regardless of injuries, the demon didn't try to finish the job.

Toriel instead had fallen to a knee and tried to calm Frisk in a soft voice. It introduced itself, and had told Frisk that it can...heal her.

A demon. Healing.

Frisk was already dying, she was scared, and Toriel's worried brown eyes reminded her of her own late mother, so Frisk had nodded and tried not to flinch when the monster moved closer.

Frisk stifled a sob when she moved her wing and felt not even a twinge of pain. She can still move it effortlessly, she can still fly. Frisk held it against her chest with trembling hands. She wasn't grounded.

"Are you alright, my child?" Toriel asked softly, making Frisk look up. Its... _Her_ eyes were gentle and reassuring. "Do you have any more injuries?"

She sniffled and shook her head, peering up at the the demon shyly. "T-thank you..."

Toriel smiled, and Frisk was struck by how warmer her expression was, now that it wasn't filled with worry. "That is good. Are you ready to get up?"

At Frisk's nod, she offered a hand. It was big, bigger than any human hand Frisk had ever seen. It dwarfed her own small hand when she took it, and the demon helped her up with a single pull.

"My house is a long ways walk from here, but we can rest for a few minutes if you feel tired," Toriel said, and Frisk hesitated.

She was curious. She wanted to see more of this place and... a small part of her wanted to stay with Toriel for a little while longer.

But she can't. Her friends would worry, the townsfolk would worry. Some might even try to follow Frisk up the mountain, and possibly meet a demon who is not as kind as Toriel. Frisk herself would've died from that yellow flower if Toriel hadn't saved her.

So Frisk slowly shook her head and said, "I need to go home."

"Ah..." Toriel hesitated. "I'm afraid that going home is not possible."

Frisk furrowed her eyebrows, a slight wariness and confusion starting to color the disappointment she was feeling. "Why? There was that hole I fell in. I can fly." As if to emphasize her point, she spread her wings slightly open.

The demon smiled sadly for a moment, eyes lingering on the appendages before shifting back to Frisk's face with a solemn expression. "A long time ago, humans sealed us monsters underneath this mountain. They created a magical barrier that can enable anyone to get in, but none can get out."

Frisk paled, and the dark, cavernous walls that stretched above and around them suddenly seemed oppressive. Caging. She shifted her wings, overcome with the urge to fly, to be free, to prove Toriel wrong because she is _not staying here._

"I want to try." Frisk was stubborn, and as kind as Toriel was, she was still a virtual stranger.

"But you'll hurt yourself," Toriel fretted worriedly, like a mother would, and it made something in Frisk's chest hurt. But Frisk shook her head and repeated herself. She didn't wait, she turned around and started walking back from whence she came.

Something splashed beneath her shoe, making her look down. She faltered.

It was blood. Her's.

Frisk swallowed and continued on, knowing even without looking that bloody footprints were left in her wake.

Toriel followed behind her as they arrived at the patch of golden flowers. It was a point of color and light in the darkness with sunlight bathing its petals from above. It had called to Frisk as a safe place to land when the ground beneath her had collapsed, when her wings hurt from hitting the side of the hole and she was too disoriented and in pain to fly away.

Now, she hoped these flowers hadn't led her to her doom.

Frisk stared up at the point of light far above her. She took a breath, before turning to Toriel with a smile.

"Don't worry, if I get out, I'll come back to say goodbye. Then tomorrow I'll bring you some snacks we have at home!"

Toriel chuckled, but it was sad, so Frisk continued, "There are these candies where they're all rolled up like tape, but you can eat them! They're my favorite."

But the demon still looked quite sad, so Frisk sighed. She lifted her head towards the light and muttered, "Well, here goes nothing." With a slight crouch, she jumped and opened her wings.

They flapped a few times to lift her weight off the ground, and soon she had them spread in all their glory as she soared. Higher and higher she rose with each movement of her wings, different shades of feathers ranging from brown to yellow bathing in golden light. A grin spread itself on Frisk's lips.

But then–

"Ah!" Frisk yelped as impossibly, improbably, she hit something.

She flapped wildly to reorient herself in the air, and then hovered in place as she looked up.

There was nothing there.

She tried again. And again.

And each time she reached a certain height, a burst of light would explode in front of her as she simultaneously hit an invisible wall. Again she tried, again and again trying to reach that light which was so close and yet so dauntingly far.

Distantly, she knew that her chest was heaving, that her eyes were starting to burn, but she paid it no mind as she slammed on that damned wall again.

"Child, please!" someone's voice cut through the haze of desperation, "Please, stop! You'll hurt yourself..."

Frisk shook her head and prepared to try again, but stopped. Her attempts were futile. There was nothing she can do against an invisible, apparently magical, wall. Frisk closed her eyes in defeat, trying to staunch the tears that threatened to escape.

She stayed in the air for a few more moments, to gather herself. Once she landed back down, Toriel's eyes wet with tears, and she knew that her own face was a picture of dismay and grief. Toriel's arms wrapped around her, whispers of assurances and home reaching Frisk's ears.

Frisk didn't move to return the hug, and not a single word escaped her mouth.


End file.
